Chapter 49 During the rainy season, I thought I would never see you again in this lifetime. ...
The room door closed, and the room was dimly lit because the lights hadn't been turned on yet, with only a small lamp on the ceiling in the entryway.
The light shone on the top of his head, and the emotions in his eyes were obscured by the shadows of his superior brow bone.
Another sigh.
“Feiwen, you shouldn’t have come.” Liang Yanzhe said with a sneer, “I thought that during this time apart, I could sort out the emotions that were bothering you. You did nothing wrong, it was me who was wrong.”
Lin Fei's hand fell limply, the sense of defeat drawing all the air from her body. The air she exhaled felt like sharp knives cutting through her trachea, causing a feeling of fullness and pain.
What's wrong with them?
She no longer knew what to do.
"It's getting late, let's rest." Liang Yanzhe walked past her, opened her suitcase, carefully sorted out each piece of clothing, hung up the ones that were easily wrinkled, put the others in the storage cabinet, and thoughtfully took out her pajamas and placed them at the foot of the bed.
Lin Fei took the clothes and went into the bathroom.
She stood under the shower for ten minutes, her eyes closed, letting the warm water soak her from head to toe, trying to wash away all the filth in her mind.
She turned off the shower when she could no longer breathe, opened her eyes, wiped the fog off the mirror, and met the gaze of the woman whose skin had turned pink from holding her breath.
"Feiwen, don't wash for too long, you might faint," the man knocked on the door, offering a gentle reminder.
Lin Fei wrapped himself in a bathrobe, letting his hair drip water, and opened the bathroom door.
Liang Yanzhe sat down at his desk, turned around, picked up the hairdryer next to him, and walked towards her: "I'll dry your hair for you."
Lin Fei sat in his original spot, hesitating whether to move. He thought to himself, "Is it really appropriate for me to just show her my recent experimental results like this?"
He turned on the hairdryer, but all she could hear was the static and hot air. She simply played on her phone instead of looking at the research data on the screen.
Lin Fei's hair is thick, not the soft kind; it's a bit coarse and stiff. While others can blow-dry their hair in ten minutes, she needs twenty.
Because she was too lazy to blow-dry her hair, she always had to mentally prepare herself for a long time before washing it. To make things easier, she only grew her hair to shoulder length, and it was even shorter when she was working. After they got married, Liang Yanzhe took over the job of blow-drying her hair, and that's how her hair grew to the length below her shoulder blades.
If you blow-dry your hair for too long, it will get hot. Liang Yanzhe will adjust the temperature, using warm air for a few minutes before adjusting the heat.
Lin Fei pulled a few strands of hair and played with them, waiting listlessly for the hair drying to finish.
"Okay." Liang Yanzhe used his five fingers to untangle the tangled ends of his hair.
He carefully put away the hairdryer; even the coiled cord of someone with mild obsessive-compulsive disorder must be neatly arranged.
Lin Fei stood on the stool, and Liang Yanzhe extended one hand to protect her side. He said, "Be careful."
She waited for him to come closer, then pounced on him, and he could only hold her up with both hands.
"You and I will sleep for a while." Lin Fei needed to adjust to the time difference and needed to take a nap.
Liang Yanzhe was going to the hospital in three hours. Professor Jin invited him to be the second assistant to enter the operating room to observe the surgery up close, which was a great learning opportunity. He agreed early on. He only needed to arrive at the hospital half an hour in advance to prepare. After some deliberation, he carried her to bed.
Lin Fei didn't let go of her hands and feet, but fortunately Liang Yanzhe had a stable center of gravity and didn't sway even after bending down and holding her for a while.
Seeing that she showed no sign of letting go, he knelt on the edge of the bed and gently patted her: "Let go, otherwise how am I supposed to sleep?"
Once she was sure he would sleep with her, she let go of his hand, moved to the other side, and made room for him.
Liang Yanzhe turned off the light and lay down in bed.
"Liang Yanzhe." Lin Fei leaned closer, her arms intertwined with his, "You can stay as long as you want, I'm just going to stay here with you."
She will try to understand his concerns and his hesitation.
Liang Yanzhe turned to his side and pulled her into his arms: "Sleep."
Lin Fei closed his eyes, surrounded by familiar scents, and drowsiness washed over him as he drifted off to sleep.
She hadn't dreamed in a long time, perhaps because she was too afraid of losing it. She dreamed of her birthday six years ago, the one that made her angry and sad.
Liang Yanzhe picked her up downstairs at the dormitory and took her to a high-end restaurant.
A sumptuous dinner and a cake in her favorite flavor.
During her two months in Hong Kong, she found countless excuses to buy cakes to celebrate, but this time it was finally to celebrate for herself.
She was in low spirits, feeling irritable and wishing it would end quickly.
She made a wish, and kindly gave it to Liang Yanzhe.
—I hope he arrives in a foreign land safe and sound.
The candle was blown out, and a red velvet box was placed in front of her.
"A gift for you." The candlelight illuminated the man's handsome face and the gentle smile on his lips.
Lin Fei accepted it without opening it, and politely thanked him.
Since the argument in the music room, they've had nothing to talk about. Well, not that they haven't had anything to say, but Lin Fei is just that kind of person. If she knows there's no possibility between them, she won't bother trying to make it work. She gives perfunctory answers to the topics he throws at her.
The meal was rather awkward.
Lin Fei opened two expensive bottles of wine without hesitation, and without wasting any, he practiced the "Clean Plate Campaign" and drank them all in one gulp.
Liang Yanzhe drove without drinking alcohol, only drinking some juice.
He didn't stop her; if she opened another bottle, he would ask the waiter to get more from the cellar.
He understood that she was venting her anger, and he accepted it with a gentle smile.
"Liang Yanzhe, can you stop smiling at me? It's infuriating." Perhaps emboldened by the alcohol, she said this.
Liang Yanzhe still smiled and said, "If we don't do this, I don't know how to continue our conversation."
Lin Fei slumped onto the table: "This is so boring."
At 10:30 p.m., they came out of the restaurant. Liang Yanzhe supported her with one hand, while holding her coat and handbag with his other hand.
Lin Fei leaned against him, wrapped her arms around his waist, and asked, feigning drunkenness, "Aren't you coming back? Shouldn't you be sleeping with me?"
Liang Yanzhe let out a soft laugh, without directly answering her question.
“Maybe when I come back, you’ll have a new life.” Liang Yanzhe gently cupped her face, without making any other inappropriate moves.
She shone in the light, while he grew up in the shadows; they were from completely different worlds.
Lin Fei looked at him: "Do you know what I wished for just now? I wished you would be safe and sound. It's so strange, even though you've treated me like this, why do I still want you to be well?"
A cryptic light flashed in Liang Yanzhe's eyes, as if he had made a great decision, and he said, "Six years."
Lin Fei couldn't hear what he said, so she slapped his hand away and muttered to herself, "He won't even sleep with me, so stop playing those sweet tricks on me."
Don't let this delay her from finding her next target.
He draped his coat over her shoulders and helped her into the car.
Liang Yanzhe escorted her back to her dormitory, but she left without looking back or saying goodbye.
She had spent half a year convincing herself that she would never see a man again, and she shouldn't have seen him today.
With nowhere to vent her frustration, she threw the gift into the trash can, but less than ten minutes later, she picked it up again and opened the heavy box. Lin Fei opened her eyes, sat up, took several deep breaths, and finally came to her senses from the dream.
She doesn't like dreaming about the past, a time when she had a very difficult life, and she doesn't want to recall happy or sad memories.
This dream left her feeling melancholy.
There were signs that he had slept on the pillow next to him; I don't know when he left.
Lin Fei ran barefoot to the cabinet, opened a small bag, and pulled out a box that looked quite old.
Open.
Inside was a pocket watch that cost a fortune.
She stopped traveling two years ago, so she was placed in Chunxi and locked away with the picture album left by her parents.
The pocket watch had a unique pattern on its case, with a string of cursive English letters that read "Liang," and it was about half the size of her palm, unlike a watch that women usually wear.
Made of pure gold, it is quite heavy, and the openwork antique pattern shows that the owner is not an ordinary person.
She had taken it out once, and Liang Yanru noticed it at a glance. Curious, she asked her where it came from, saying it was obviously a century-old item and looked very familiar.
After that, she dared not wear it out anymore, and for some reason, she subconsciously avoided talking about the two months she had spent with him.
Lin Fei pressed down the ring at the top, and the cover opened like a lotus leaf. The hour and minute hands on the dial had stopped moving, otherwise you could still hear the most exquisite and meticulously crafted mechanical sounds made by watchmakers a hundred years ago.
She had also tried to find watch repairmen, but none of them could fix it. They didn't even dare to take it apart to check the parts, for fear of accidentally breaking it.
An older watch has a cleverly constructed design; if even one component is faulty, the entire watch is essentially ruined, significantly reducing its collectible value.
It's better not to repair it than to repair it at all; that's what all the craftsmen told her in the end.
After much deliberation, I decided not to bother repairing it anymore and simply kept it as an accessory.
She kept this period of time hidden deep in her heart, never daring to wipe it away, letting it be covered with a thick layer of dust.
I accidentally touched the switch next to me, and the middle layer opened, revealing a group photo.
It was the first photo she and Liang Yanzhe took together on his birthday.
It was also the day before their argument.
She held up her phone, grinning happily at the camera. He was asked to get closer, head to head with her, but he didn't look at the camera. His gaze was fixed on her, and a gentle smile appeared on his lips.
She missed the chance to ask him why he gave her the expensive pocket watch.
Lin Fei put away the pocket watch and found his cell phone on the bedside table.
Tian Ying and Ye Zhan asked her in the group chat how she was doing and if she needed any help.
Lin Fei: [I'm about to go out. After we eat, I'll wander around the neighborhood. You guys probably won't have much time to stroll around, so I'll buy you some local specialties.]
Tian Ying asked, puzzled, "Master's wife, have you two made up?"
Lin Fei: [No.]
Ye Zhan: [Teacher, what's wrong with you? You were so decisive when you made the incision, couldn't you be a little more decisive when it came to your emotions?]
Lin Fei: [Some things can't be rushed. Take good care of your teacher, don't worry about me.]
She seemed to know what he wanted and understood his concerns. She came here to break through those barriers.
After replying to the messages, Lin Fei, fully equipped, went out for a stroll.
I even video-called my three best friends in our small group chat halfway through the trip to ask them what local specialties they wanted to bring home.
Tu Xia was revising the script, and Liang Yanru was doing case analysis. Both of them were busy in front of their computers, their attention mostly focused on the computers. They would occasionally glance over and feel that Lin Fei, wearing a pretty little dress and sunglasses, was extremely eye-catching.
"Didn't you go on a long journey to chase after your husband? Why are you strolling around leisurely?" Liang Yanru asked.
Lin Fei took off his sunglasses and glared at them fiercely: "Who spread rumors about me?"
Tu Xia took a tactical sip of water, her eyes darting around nervously.
“If you keep gossiping about me behind my back, I’ll come to your house and beat you up when we get back,” Lin Fei clarified. “I’m just trying to resolve this conflict.”
"Alright, you're in love but don't realize it. Stop making excuses for yourself and be honest. Dr. Liang will feel sorry for you right away." Tu Xia made a face arrogantly, knowing that Lin Fei couldn't slap her anyway.
Liang Yanru was afraid the two of them would start arguing, and was about to mediate when she suddenly stood up and rushed to the toilet. All she could hear on the phone was the sound of her gagging.
Lin Fei and Tu Xia exchanged a glance, and could see the slight tremor in each other's pupils.
"Pregnant...so fast?" Tu Xia closed her eyes, unable to believe what had just happened.
Lin Fei was slightly more accepting: "They are both healthy, without any illness or disaster. Twenty-six is the best age for anything. It would be strange if they weren't talented."
After Liang Yanru finished vomiting and returned, she even checked her own pulse.
"I feel like I'm pregnant."
"Dr. Liang, don't you traditional Chinese medicine practitioners emphasize taking the pulse of several people every day? Why don't you go to the hospital and ask everyone to take your pulse? That way you can get the results." Tu Xia offered a wicked suggestion.
Lin Fei: "Stop joking, go to the hospital for a checkup right away."
Liang Yanru continued her half-finished case analysis: "No rush, can she run away if she's pregnant? I'll talk about it after I'm done."
They couldn't reason with the workaholic, so they just let her be.
The three of them didn't take the pregnancy too seriously and went back to their previous topic, picking out local specialties together.
Lin Fei went out today not just to buy gifts, but also to buy some props to create a romantic atmosphere, considering the feasibility of a confession.
Before Liang Yanzhe returned, she decorated the hotel room and popped up dozens of balloons by herself.
Once the decorations were almost finished, Lin Fei took a picture and sent it to the group chat, asking them how it looked.
Tu Xia: [She's even putting "I love you" on her sleeve, and she still says she's not pursuing him.]
Liang Yanru: [Mumu, when did your aesthetic sense decline?]
She's such a good friend; her mouth is poisoned. One lick of it could kill her.
Lin Fei, absorbed in his own art: "You're just envious and jealous."
Tu Xia: [Yeah, I'm so envious. I wish someone would confess their love to me with a "love you" balloon.]
Liang Yanru: [Hmm... If someone confessed their love to me and gave me roses, I would definitely be moved to tears.]
It's changed to being sarcastic and unsettling.
Lin Fei: [They all withdrew? Are you just going to say that in a dry, unpolished way?]
Tu Xia really wanted to knock open Lin Fei's head and see: [Mu Mu, as long as it's from the heart, it's romantic even if you say it amidst the smoke of battle. Right now, my "I love you" can't compare to the thought that I'm afraid I'll never see you again.]
Liang Yanru sent a cat nodding frantically emoji.
A message pops up at the top of the screen.
Tian Ying: [Teacher's wife, please stay in the hotel. There's been a riot nearby, and it's estimated to last for quite some time.]
Ye Zhan: [Hotels aren't safe either. I'll come pick you up. The hospital is safer; they won't rush in.]
Lin Fei's hand trembled. What kind of jinx was Tu Xia?
Lin Fei called Tian Ying, knowing exactly what to ask. When the call connected, she said that Liang Yanzhe was still in surgery and it was not advisable to disturb him, and that Ye Zhan had already gone out to pick her up.
Lin Fei was terrified, but she couldn't stay put and wait to be rescued. She grabbed her handbag containing her documents and necessities, left the hotel, and headed towards the hospital.
-
When Liang Yanzhe finished surgery, Tian Ying was waiting anxiously at the door.
"What's wrong?" Liang Yanzhe took off his mask and surgical cap, revealing two very obvious marks on his face from the edge of the mask.
Tian Ying: "There was a riot in Dongcheng. I was worried about my teacher's wife being alone at the hotel, so Ye Zhan went to pick her up."
Liang Yanzhe quickly left the operating room. A flat-screen TV was hanging on the wall outside the door, broadcasting today's news. The riot was five kilometers away from the hotel, and it was very likely that the hotel would be affected.
He walked quickly toward the door and ran into Ye Zhan.
"Where is Lin Fei?" Liang Yanzhe had a bad feeling.
Ye Zhan was a little dazed: "I was still able to contact her, but suddenly there was a loud bang, the signal was lost, and I lost contact with my teacher's wife."
Liang Yanzhe turned and went into the changing room.
-
Lin Fei hid in the small shop, huddled in a corner, constantly looking at his phone.
"The base station must have been destroyed; the signal is gone throughout the city." The man beside me was much calmer, as if this wasn't the first time he'd experienced something like this.
Lin Fei pressed down her trembling hands: "I... I really can't leave?"
She was walking along the road when suddenly there was a loud bang, and everyone ran in all directions. She was squeezed into a small shop by the crowd, where there were more than a dozen people hiding. Half of them were Chinese. The older woman pulled her inside and told her to hide further in.
“Power struggles, political infighting, and riots are commonplace in countries like this.” The man clapped his hands. “We’ve already contacted the embassy; they and the peacekeeping forces will be here soon.”
Lin Fei's breathing was sometimes rapid and sometimes slow; he couldn't be as calm as a man. Looking at the 30% battery level, he opened his notes app and started typing.
"Write a will?" the man asked.
Lin Fei's eyes reddened. She had always lived in a peaceful country, and this was her first time abroad, yet she had encountered such a dangerous situation. She couldn't remain as calm and indifferent as he was. She choked back tears and said, "Write an apology letter."
"Stop writing. Wait until you see them in person and tell them yourself." The man turned off her screen. "You won't die."
As the man had said, Chinese people soon came and moved them to a safe place. He calmly stepped forward and talked to the leading officer.
The man turned back. "Where are you going? I'll take you."
"No, I'm afraid of dying." Lin Fei glanced at the military personnel several times. "It's safer for them to take me."
The man took out his diplomatic passport from his suit pocket: "Is this safe enough?"
Lin Fei was so panicked that she almost cried when she saw the passport.
Why didn't this person say so sooner? Why did they chat with her for so long?
Lin Fei got into the car with the man, nervously tugging at the seatbelt and swallowing several times: "You...you really aren't lying, are you?"
"If my passport were fake, it wouldn't be your place to ask. That officer just shot me dead." The man spoke in a wild and unrestrained tone, showing no mercy even to himself.
Lin Fei calmed down a bit and licked his lower lip: "There's no need to curse yourself like that."
Ahead was a cordoned-off area, Lin Fei looked at the man.
“The area has probably been expanded. You were right to run out of the hotel.” The man didn’t brake and drove straight to the roadblock.
A bearded man with a gun knocked on the driver's side. Before taking out his identification, the man said, "Take out your passport."
Lin Fei shakily handed over his own book.
He spoke to the other party in the local language. Although Lin Fei couldn't understand it, he could tell that they were joking around and the atmosphere wasn't so serious.
The man took the passport, returned it to Lin Fei, and led her through the cordoned-off area.
"Scared?" The man noticed Lin Fei's strange silence.
Lin Fei buried his hands in his palms, sniffed, and said, "I've never seen anything like this before. Of course I'm scared, and I'm even more scared that I won't be able to contact anyone I care about before I die."
"You just said you were going to write an apology letter. Who is it for?" the man asked.
Lin Fei opened the memo app, looked at the three illogical sentences, and pouted, saying, "My husband, I had a fight with him."
"We'll see you soon, save your energy for later." The man sped up, and the car quickly drove towards the hospital.
As they approached the hospital, Lin Fei noticed the car Ye Zhan had said was coming to pick her up. She rolled down the window and shouted, "Ye Zhan!"
"Don't shout, I'm pulling over."
As soon as the man finished speaking, the car in front of them cut them off. He quickly slammed on the brakes, narrowly avoiding a collision.
A man wearing a white coat got out of the driver's seat.
When Lin Fei saw that it was Liang Yanzhe, he anxiously pounded on the car door and fumbled around, unable to find the car lock.
The man's hand had barely moved from the steering wheel when Liang Yanzhe moved even faster, drawing a pistol from behind him. He exuded a murderous aura, his dark eyes filled with frost, and pointed the gun at the man's head as he strode closer.
The man dared not make a move and raised his hands.
Liang Yanzhe gestured for him to lower the car window.
The man pressed the buttons to unlock and lower the window.
"Brother Liang, Chen Shiwei is on a mission, and I'm running errands for him. Don't actually shoot me." The man kept his hands raised and leaned back leisurely in the chair.
Before Liang Yanzhe could ask a question, Lin Fei jumped out of the passenger seat, threw herself into his arms, and cried, "Liang Yanzhe, I thought I would never see you again in this life."
-----------------------
Author's Note: There's no Chen Shiwei, but there's Yu Wenyan [Let me see]. Old Chen's mouth is gentler; he only gets sharp at the negotiating table. He's still quite polite, but this guy's lips could really poison him if he licked them.
The book's timeline is quite early; the two of them were still abroad and hadn't returned yet, but Lao Yu was about to go back (around this timeline).
Dr. Liang and Old Chen knew each other because they had worked for Doctors Without Borders before. They were introduced by Song Jili.
There's also a cousin of Chen Shiwei in Lao Song's group. He's a real person; I'll write about him later. (His story is roughly before everyone else's timeline.)
[Eating popcorn][Eating popcorn][Eating popcorn] Still 66, love you all!
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